De La Renta's Stepdaughter Owns House In Bedford Fire

A vacant home at 334 Hook Road that burned down on New Year’s Day is owned by the stepdaughter of designer Oscar de la Renta and her husband, CEO of the company. It has been listed for sale since March with a current asking price of $1.75 million.Photo Credit: Ginnel Real Estate

BEDFORD, N.Y. – A vacant house at 334 Hook Road in Katonah that burned to the ground early New Year’s Day has some notable owners: Eliza Reed Bolen, the stepdaughter of celebrity fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, owns the property with her husband, Alexander Lytton Bolen, who is the CEO of de la Renta’s company.

The Bedford Fire Department was called out around 3 a.m. Tuesday to battle the flames consuming the four-bedroom, five-bath house, which sits on 8.4 acres along the Bedford Riding Lanes.

Bedford Fire Chief Peter Aquilino, who formally took over as chief just hours earlier on Dec. 31, replacing former Bedford Chief Jason Siemers, said Tuesday that the fire blazed right through the first and second floors of the building, which was made of a lightweight construction.

“The place was a total loss, but nobody got hurt,” Aquilino said. Six other fire departments from South Salem, Bedford Hills, Goldens Bridge, Katonah, Mount Kisco and Pound Ridge, totaling around 50 firefighters in all, responded to Tuesday’s alarm. They left the site a little after 7:30 a.m.

The 4,400-square-foot home has been listed for sale by Bedford company Ginnel Real Estate since March 2012, most recently at an asking price of $1.75 million, and is described as "the perfect project for the creative builder or investor" on the Ginnel site.

According to the Bedford Assessor's Office, tax bills for the property, which the couple purchased in July 2008, are mailed to the Hook Road address.

Eliza Reed Bolen is the daughter of Annette de la Renta and New York investor Samuel P. Reed. In June 1998, Eliza Reed and Alexander Bolen were married at the Kent, Conn., home of Annette and Oscar de la Renta, according to their New York Times wedding announcement.

The cause of the fire was not immediately apparent Tuesday morning. Bedford fire officials said Thursday that the Westchester County Cause and Origin team has not yet given them a possible cause for the fire.